Just when you thought you had a handle on what you know about your favorite writers, you discover there is so much more to know! Faith Hunter, author of the Jane Yellowrock Urban Fantasy novels and Rogue Mage Fantasy series, was sweet enough (and brave enough) to share a little of herself with us! Dare you to take a peek!
If you were to hold a dinner party for six, who would you invite and share at least one question you would have for each? Your guests don’t have to be alive and if you really want to make it fun, you can use favorite fictional characters.
Well, if they were dead, they probably wouldn’t come to the party. And, if they did, they probably wouldn’t help the ambience with their rotten stink. Or their rattle-y bones if they’d been gone a long while. And if they were zombies, they’d try to eat our brains, not the food I’d so carefully prepared. So I guess I’ll pass on this one. Oh. Wait. They can be alive???
Wow, you’d cook for them? Brave, brave Faith. I don’t think they’d still be breathing if I had to cook. Although that would make some interesting dinner conversation…hmmm…
As children we tend to have an idea of what we want to be by the time we’re ten. Before you decided to pursue the artistic dream of being a writer, what did you want to be and why?
I wanted to be a nurse so I could help people. Then I found out nurses sometimes have to wash people’s butts, and I decided to become a lab tech. I only later discovered that lab techs have to do tests on poop. My bad.
*snort* Yeah, that might take some getting used to…
If your character(s) came with a warning label, what would it say?
Warning! Warning Will Robinson! Warning! (laughing) You have to like old scifi to appreciate this one.
Hey! Who you calling old? I love that line…actually used it on my Knight in Slightly Muddy Armor the other day *grin*
Personally, I tend to be a bit on the introverted side so the thought of being in the actual presence of one of my favorite writers makes my heart race, my knees shake and tangles my tongue (yes classic fan girl behavior). Who could reduce you to such a level and how do you imagine your initial meeting?
I adore two actors: George Clooney and Mark Harmon. A-D-O-R-E! If got to meet either actor, I’d probably blubber like I was having a stroke. And then cry. And then pass out. All of which could be worse.
Only if they didn’t catch you. Think of the possibilities if they did, though…
Growing up, what was your favorite book, comic, game or movie and did you create a character/player that might resemble you?
Wonder Woman. She was tall and skinny and athletic and had big boobs and wore a big cape. I was successfully psychic in the boobs part. And I do love scarves which might be considered a type of cape. As for the rest, I guessed totally wrong.
Share one uniquely strange experience you’ve had that remains crystal clear to this day.
I remember a 4 day trek up to Nantahala. It was cold and raining and wet and miserable, and the RV was full of river-stinky wet gear, and wet, cold, stinky river paddlers (some of whom didn’t feel like showering because it was only Wednesday). And I was stressed and exhausted. Deadlines looming. Needing to get home. And because I had promised to join everyone, we geared up in our cold wet river gear and went down the river.
We were the only people on the water.
Mist fell down the sides of the gorge like a waterfall of clouds. Birds sang like they were calling for the last warm days of summer to return, and to remember them. The water called back with a muted roar of joy and power. The river carried us along like the veins of mother earth. I got out front at one point, and a bird flew along beside my boat, just us, alone on the water. Wings outspread in a slow glide, he watched me with one quirky eye, sharing some great bit of bird wisdom about flight with his water-bound cousin. Rain fell and dimpled the surface of the river in the places where it was smooth. Raindrops mixed with my tears until I couldn’t tell the difference between the tears of the earth and my own.
And I was restored.
That river trip was a thing of great worth, a priceless, un-match-able experience. I returned home relaxed and calm. And I met my deadline. I carry that river trip in my memory like a precious thing. And when I’m stressed, and having panic attacks, and feeling like a failure, I remember that trip. And that bird, gliding beside me, sharing the experience of the cold and the wet.
Wow, Faith, that actually made me tear up! It sounds so incredibly beautiful. It’s those type of moments that restore your creativity and sense of wonder. Something every person needs! Thank you for sharing.
What’s the one genre you won’t ever try and why?
Erotica. My sex scenes suck. Wait. That came out aaaaaall wrong.
*snorting coffee through nostrils* Seriously, you are a dangerous woman when hot beverages are involved! I know I feel like the closet perv when doing my scenes. Hunched over the keyboard, office door closed, continuously checking to make sure the Knight, the Hellhound or the Prankster Duo aren’t lurking behind me.
Now it’s time for our favorite bullet questions!
Blades, guns, fists or feet?
Yes.
Favorite Fairy Tale of all time?
Snow White and the 7 Dwarves, of course. Wait. Was that not politically correct here?
No worries, what is said in the Swamp, stays in the Swamp!
Three titles and their authors sitting on your nightstand/bookcase/table/floor waiting to be read?
I only have two waiting: 1. Kim Harrison’s Ever After. 2. Patricia Briggs’ Frost Burned.
Greatest one liner of all time?
Go ahead … Make my day.
Sarcastic witticism, Southern sweetness or Geeky disdain?
Yes. Each as appropriate.
Strangest item currently taking up space in your writing cave?
Hmmm. That would be either the boar skull (complete with tusks) or the free rang anole lizard named Longfellow. He is sleeping in an orchid as I write this, but he spent today running up and down the shelves that hold the orchids.
Favorite supernatural creature?
Angels. Not the pretty lady kind, but the warrior kind — mean brutes with the swords of justice and armor. I mean, really. Kickass gorgeous males with wings and swords? How cool is that?
Intrigued are you? Good, because here’s a look at Faith’s latest release, BLOOD TRADE:
The Master of Natchez, Mississippi has a nasty problem on his hands. Rogue vampires—those who follow the Naturaleza and believe that humans should be nothing more than prey to be hunted—are terrorizing his city. Luckily, he knows the perfect skinwalker to call in to take back the streets.
But what he doesn’t tell Jane is that there’s something different about these vamps. Something that makes them harder to kill—even for a pro like Jane. Now, her simple job has turned into a fight to stay alive…and to protect the desperately ill child left in her care.
Available now at AMAZON and BARNES AND NOBLE!
Faith Hunter has written the Jane Yellowrock series and the Rogue Mage series, as well as the RPG Rogue Mage. Several of her novels have appeared on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller lists, and she has four new books under contract. Under the pen name Gwen Hunter, she has written action adventure, mysteries, and thrillers. Under all her pen names, she has over 25 books in print in 27 countries.
Faith writes full-time and works full-time in a hospital (for the benefits). She’s a workaholic and playaholic who makes jewelry, collects orchids and bones, travels in her RV with her hubby and two dogs, and white-water kayaks. Once upon a time, she also tried to keep house and cook, but since she started writing two books a year, she may have forgotten how to turn on the appliances.
Want more? You can find her:
Website Facebook Twitter: @hunterfaith